The University of Alberta's 90-year-old barn has been moved to make way for the construction of a new sporting facility.

The structure was moved to a temporary site Monday. Movers went ahead hauling the huge structure despite issues with the ground being too soft. The barn eventually made its way across the road.

"There's a lot of work involved. A lot of steel [and] with this much weight it's a time consuming process," said Doug Schmidt with McConnell Building Movers.

University of Alberta farmer Jack Francis says the structure is worth saving because of its heavy fir timber.

He says the barn was first used for horses, and then sheep. Following the animals in 2000, the barns was used to display agricultural collections.

The university says there is now a growing interest of what could happen to the barn in the future.

"There's been a lot of interest in terms of different things that it could be from museums to coffee shops. so it's definitely a keeper and we want to make sure it does get to the eventual right purpose," said Pat Jansen with the University of Alberta.

The historic building weighs an estimated 165 tonnes.

It's unknown at this point where the permanent home of the barn will be.